3 Tips To Set Your Recommender Up For Success

Recommendation letters are an opportunity to add a third-party perspective to your MBA application. A strong recommendation letter, experts say, can make or break an application.

“Getting that third-party perspective on [applicants] is really important to figure out their personality, their passions, and their goals,” Natalie Lahiff, a former admissions counselor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who now serves as an MBA admissions consultant with Solomon Admissions, tells Fortune. “The recommendation will either boost that application—or it could go the opposite way.”

Lisa Cummings, an admissions consultant at Stratus Admissions Counseling, recently offered a few tips on how to best prep your B-school recommenders to ensure a strong recommendation letter.

REACH OUT EARLY

The more time you give your recommender, the better your letter will be. Cummings recommends reaching out at least six to eight weeks before your first application deadline and providing them with specific details about your work and impact.

“Provide them with a list of the schools to which you are applying and include each school’s deadline,” Cummings says. “Share a copy of your resume and your reasons for seeking an MBA, as well as your post-MBA goals. In addition, providing a little background on the culture of each program can be helpful.”

HIGHLIGHT KEY SKILLS AND PROJECTS

A recommendation letter should add color to your application versus simply repeating information you’ve already included. When providing your recommender with information, consider highlighting key skills and projects that can help fill any “gaps” in your profile.

“For example, if you didn’t take a quantitative major in college or your quant test score is low, you could suggest that your recommender highlight some quant-heavy work you have done,” Cummings says. “Remind them of specific projects so they can provide detailed examples to your schools.”

DON’T WRITE YOUR OWN LETTER

While it’s important to provide your recommender with proper information, there’s a fine line between setting them up for success and writing your own letter.

“Definitely give your recommenders plenty of specific examples of traits and skills you hope they will highlight in their letters, but be careful how you provide that information,” Cummings says. “Business schools are built on ethics, and it is unethical for a candidate to write even a portion of their own recommendation letters. Recommenders may think they are doing you a favor by asking you to write your own letter, but they aren’t—and if you get caught (schools have amazing detection systems), it can lead to an automatic trip to the ding pile.”

Sources: Stratus Admissions Counseling, Fortune

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